Gabriel Kelley performs free show at Legendary Dobbs

Gabriel Kelley writes songs that come straight from the heart and then delivers them in their natural form -- no studio tricks, no digital edits….just good honest rock songs recorded with an organic vibe.

Kelley, who will be performing a free show Tuesday night at the Legendary Dobbs in Philadelphia, is touring in support of his new album “It Don’t Come Easy.” Even though he has been performing for awhile, the disc is his debut album.

“I started working on the album -- the tracking part last year in May,” said Kelley, during a phone interview Thursday afternoon from his home in Nashville. “The record was a pretty long process -- about five years in the making.

“There was the transition from writing the tunes to recording them. And, I had to get the funding to pay for the studio. It took about eight months to finish. I’ve always felt that the stuff that’s really worth doing takes time and energy. That’s why the album is called ‘It Don’t Come Easy’.”

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Kelley, who grew up in northeastern Georgia with parents who grew their own food and lived a natural lifestyle on a farm, needed to raise money to finance the cost of studio time. To his surprise, that part did come easy.

“I used a Kickstarter campaign to get money together to make the album,” said Kelley. “I raised over $26,000. It was great. My fans have been very supportive and it really helped. The album was recorded at two studios in Nashville. We tracked it at House of David Studio with producer Neal Cappellino. Then, we went to Doghouse Studio to do the overdubs.

“We tracked the whole album pretty much live -- the old school way with everyone playing together in the same room at the same time. Neal and I took our time putting the musicians together. For all of us, the project was a labor of love. We had three generations of musicians ranging from Reggie Young, who is in his 70s, to me. At 27, I was probably the youngest. Everyone was great. They left their egos at the door.

“It was crucial for me to record in an analog setting. It was my first real experience of recording to tape. All the music that I loved growing up was tracked that way. The best way to achieve an aesthetic was finding out how it was done and trying to replicate the form.

“There’s a lot going on in the songs but there was also a lot of space. We just wanted to capture the moment as opposed to dialing it in and chopping it up digitally. I wanted it to be as organic as possible -- just trying to keep it real.”

Gabriel Kelley will perform on Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Legendary Dobbs (304 South St., Philadelphia, 215-501-7288, www.dobbsphilly.com). Admission is free.